This Spiritual Energy is Lethal!

Chapter 75: Chapter 075: The Interrupted Ceremony

The dim blue candlelight illuminated the pitch-black corridor, with small platforms on both sides of the stony path that would normally hold candles.

The corridor was just wide enough for two people to walk side by side, and in the past, the priests likely proceeded in a silent and orderly formation toward the space deeper within.

Chen Ke was particularly concerned about the Demon Seed that Nylonde had mentioned; if Faralis was involved in the great fire of the kingdom, it meant that the fire was caused by some sort of magic, not a natural phenomenon.

Of course, he hoped not to encounter Faralis here, as he had no means to counteract magic and would be burned alive if they met.

But then Chen Ke thought about it and realized that the timing of the great fire conflicted with the two sets of memories he had obtained. Since the fire had reduced everyone to ashes, Nylonde’s corpse should not have been left on the small podium.

Hmm…

Either there had been many magical fires in the kingdom, with the last one incinerating everyone, or there was another hidden matter.

Chen Ke had no interest in guessing; if he could obtain enough scholarly memories in the Great Void, perhaps he could understand what exactly happened with the fire. However, Chen Ke certainly wouldn’t actively seek out such explorations.

After all, his main goal was to trace Si’s consortium team and gather more information about Si’s consortium, so that he could be fully prepared when he faced Pankia.

Until the life countdown was removed, other matters were unimportant. He would take a look if it was convenient, but would decisively give up if it took too much time.

After walking for at least a few minutes, Chen Ke arrived at a circular hall, which was clearly a room specially designed for various rituals. Holding the candelabra, Chen Ke looked around the spacious hall, which astonishingly contained traces of black mist.

“Expend life to resist the invasion of the dark plague…”

“-10 seconds”

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“-10 seconds”

“-10 seconds”

“-10 seconds”

“-10 seconds”

…

The Dark Plague!

Chen Ke frowned. Wasn’t this the plague that ravaged the Fan Hede Kingdom?! He hadn’t expected this disease to physically manifest as a black fog floating in this hall.

Regardless of whether the disease was curable or what consequences it might have after infection, at least Chen Ke didn’t need to worry about contracting the Dark Plague himself.

In other words, any similar curses, mental attacks, plague viruses, or other long-lasting debuffs that couldn’t be removed, would not have a substantial effect on Chen Ke, as all these effects would be offset by his lifespan.

Looking on the bright side, Chen Ke was immune to all controls and DeBuffs; on the downside, even the weakest curse could have a direct impact on his life.

It was like a double-edged sword.

A bead of cold sweat slid down Chen Ke’s forehead. He couldn’t leave yet; he had to at least examine the furnishings in the hall first.

After all, whether the ritual was completed or not affected the recurring cycle of this area.

Only by following in the footsteps of Si’s consortium team could he discover what they had obtained.

But did this also indirectly imply that the team members had contracted the Dark Plague…?

Chen Ke looked toward the center of the hall, where under the illumination of the candlelight, there was a large circular Magic Array on the floor.

Unlike the Hexagram Magic Array in the movies, this Magic Array appeared far more complex. It was based on a circle and had dozens of circular rings nested within each other, each ring’s empty spaces filled with unreadable ancient runes.

Chen Ke reached out to touch the Magic Array. Each pattern in it was made up of grooves; it seemed that once some liquid flowed through these grooves, the Magic Array would activate as intended.

Chen Ke guessed the liquid must be blood.

Radiating from the center of the circular Magic Array were a dozen lines. At the end of each line was a circular frame big enough for one person to stand in. These frames, irregularly scattered around the Array, likely each held a Priest. Another groove-lined path connected to a small altar in the hall.

“I need a dozen people to conduct this ritual, and who knows if they used some strange magic. How can I possibly…” Doubts flickered through Chen Ke’s mind.

But when he saw what was on the small altar, he finally understood what he had to do.

There was a circular silver tray on the altar, bizarrely holding a perfectly intact woman’s head…

The woman had golden hair, decapitated cleanly at the neck, with the wound very tidy. The silver tray beneath was cushioned with silk, showing no signs of blood.

The woman looked as if she were merely sleeping. Under the candlestick’s roving light, it made the hair on the back of Chen Ke’s neck stand.

Damn, truly twisted…

To be fair, the woman was quite beautiful… It’s just a pity she only had a head left.

From her appearance, this woman looked only seventeen or eighteen years old, an age for discussing marriage in medieval times. She must have had beautiful large eyes, her pink lips slightly downturned as if lamenting her fate.

No, this woman did not seem to be mourning for herself. In her expression, Chen Ke saw no self-pity or fear of death.

Was she the so-called Demon Seed Faralis?

Chen Ke regained his senses. The fact that her beauty remained even after decapitation was quite telling. Perhaps, just before the last sealing ritual, Demon Seed Faralis had unleashed a terrible magic fire to exact revenge on the Black Ring Sect and the kingdom that sought to seal her.

But Chen Ke still thought there was more to it.

He inspected the silver tray, which seemed immovable, and there was also a mechanism beneath it, resembling a lever scale. Chen Ke speculated that taking away the head would cause the tray to rise.

Beside the tray lay an ordinary rusty iron dagger, but he could still see the red bloodstains on the blade.

Clearly, the woman’s blood was key to the sealing ritual. Her eternally youthful head could continuously release blood to fill the Magic Array on the ground, using her own blood’s power to seal herself.

Chen Ke picked up the dagger with his left hand, brewing a storm of emotion for a long time before gently touching the woman’s head with his right hand.

“If it has to be this way, don’t blame me…” he muttered while slowly lifting the woman’s head by her hair.

As he brought the dagger close to the neck of the woman’s head, he suddenly hesitated.

So-called completing the cycle shouldn’t just be repeating past events. Clearly, the current state of the kingdom, everyone turned to ashes, should not have happened if the priests had completed the ritual before.

No, the cycle shouldn’t be like this. Back then, someone must have interrupted the ritual, causing the great fire.

Otherwise, the church’s main doors would have opened long ago…

Chen Ke slowly put down the dagger, looked at the woman’s head in his hands, then took the silk from the tray and wrapped the head.

“I’ll inconvenience you for a while.”

Chen Ke glanced at the silver tray again, now slowly rising without the weight of the head.

Without saying more, he left the circular hall, carrying the head on his back.